


It's A Gift

by bramblerose4



Category: Motorcity
Genre: Gen, Male Friendship, Origin Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-07
Updated: 2014-08-07
Packaged: 2018-02-12 05:36:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2097621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bramblerose4/pseuds/bramblerose4
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mike helps Chuck discover something about himself. It's my personal head-canon of how Mike and Chuck met. I have started to write a story based on those events, but who knows when I will actually get a chance to finish and post it.</p><p>Contains Mike and Chuck friendship feels, slight Muck.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's A Gift

"Hey Mikey, are you sure you wanted to meet up here?" Chuck asked nervously. He looked out the passenger’s side window. They were near the entrance of the downtown bridge. "You know that I don't like this place." Too many bad memories. The last bit went unsaid, but Chuck was sure Mike knew that.

"I know. I was hoping that coming here we could perhaps change your feelings for this place. Make you see things in a more positive light?" Mike suggested hopefully.

"S-sure," Chuck sighed and turned away from the window to look at Mike. "I mean it couldn't hurt to try." His heart fluttered when Mike smiled at him. He couldn’t help but return the grin, Mike always had that effect on him.

Mike stepped out of the car and pocketed the key in his jacket. He looked around taking in the neon lights and the shadows they created over the ground, and scanned the area looking for any sign of people.

The place looked deserted, which was has he hoped. So far, things were going according to plan. Not that this part of town was occupied anymore, not since Kane bots had blasted the majority of the surrounding buildings, but that didn’t mean there weren't people lurking about in the rubble waiting to spring out of the darkness to rob passersby.

Mike jerked his attention back to Chuck when he heard the passenger side door slam shut.

"Sorry," Chuck apologized, as if the reason Mike was looking at him was because he had shut the door of his precious baby too hard.

Mike only smiled at him and waved over to the bridge entrance. "Shall we?"

Chuck swallowed noticeably, but nodded his head, following his leader as Mike walked in quick confident strides.

Chuck clasped his hands together and held them close to his chest in an attempt to stop himself for wanting to reach out to Mike as sour memories flooded him with each step. He could see why Mike would want to put him through this, and he didn’t want to let Mike down, but that didn’t mean he liked having to do it.

Mike turned around when he heard Chuck whimper and his heart sank to the bottom of his stomach. His blond friend's head whipped back and forth as if he expected the ghosts from his past to jump out and attack him, and considering what Chuck had gone through, they might.

The leader of the Burners slowed and matched his pace with Chuck. "It's okay buddy. I'm here. No one is going to hurt you."

"Y-yeah, I-I know," Chuck's voice vibrated as fear swept through him and not for the first time Mike thought his plan was going to fail.

"The gangs are all gone," Mike explained, kicking a rock into the gaping darkness of the bridge tunnel. "They've relocated to the far end of town. We made sure of that, remember?"

"How can I forget?" Chuck asked with an incredulous snort. "You saved my life that day."

“I’d like to think of it as a mutual saving.” Mike said, giving Chuck a wink and a grin. It grew wider when Chuck's cheeks went pink and he shook his head indignantly at Mike's antics.

“Yeah, that’s not a bad way to think of it,” Chuck agreed with a nod. A pearl of warmth flickered inside his chest as Mike neared him, and for a moment, he forgot about the threats and the beatings; there was only Mike. His figure shadowed by headlights as he expertly fought off Razor and his crew as they foolishly ganged up on him.

Chuck remembered the awe which filled him as Mike moved like a spirit as he dodged and weaved through Razor's goons. The utter disbelief and relief that ran through him when Mike called them Kane's tools and how foolish they were for trusting the man who wanted to wipe out their way of life.

"How you holding up, Chuckles?" Mike's voice cut past the memories and Chuck realized he had stopped walking.

He took a moment to ask himself the question. He was nervous, but that was normal but there was something else, something bigger and Chuck almost laughed out loud as he realized what it was.

Tall. He could remember cowering in the corners, hoping to go unnoticed by Razor. He could even see some of his old hiding places.

This had been his refuge when he left Motorcity, though he was little more than one of Razor's slaves, used for his hacking abilities to break into KaneCo’s storehouses. There was no denying that this place held some messed up memories, but Chuck had outgrown this place a long time ago. He was a different person now; better, stronger. This, Chuck realized, was why Mike had brought him here.

He looked at his dark haired friend and ran a hand through his hair. Taking a in a deep breath he exhaled heavily, feeling that as he did so he was releasing himself from the hold of his past. "Yeah, I'm good," he answered.

Mike tilted his head to the side and looked into Chuck's exposed face as if he hadn’t quite decided to believe him or not.

Chuck gave him a sheepish grin and chuckled, his shoulders going up as he did so.

Mike echoed his laugh and closer the space between them and hugged Chuck to him, wrapping his arms around Chuck, effectively pinning his arms to his sides. "I'm so glad." Mike sighed, squeezing the blond. "Happy anniversary, Chuckles," Mike cried out, his body shaking with emotion.

Chuck rested his forehead on top of Mike's shoulder and breathed in the scent of motor oil and coconut shampoo and bit his lip to keep down his own feelings as they swelled up in his throat.

Chuck lifted his head to turned it, he needed to say something, tell Mike how much this moment of clarity meant to him, but when he did he found that Mike had turned his head to face him as well. Chuck froze, taking in who close they were. He knew he should try and pull away from Mike but he discovered that he only wanted to lean in closer. His cheeks must be on fire judging on how hot he felt. A thought pierced him and his mouth went dry. They were close enough to kiss. His eyes darted to Mike's lips before he could stop himself and regretted it, because now he knew just how easy it would be to just go for it and lower his head to press his mouth to Mike's.

Luckily, or unluckily, Mike moved away first.

Chuck let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding and mirrored Mike's motion. "Happy anniversary, Mikey," he repeated grinned widely. He pushed the strange urges away and focused on the gift that Mike had given him. The gift of knowing he was a survivor, to know that no matter how difficult and hopeless the fight appeared things could be much worse if he didn't fight at all.

"Thanks Chuckles," Mike fully released Chuck and lightly patted him on the shoulder.

Chuck still felt warm where Mike had touched him even after Mike had let go. He tried not to dwell on how much he missed the heat and followed Mike back to Mutt. "Hey Mikey?"

Mike looked over his shoulder at Chuck, the expectant look on his face made his stomach tighten. "Yeah?"

"Are, Are you hungry?" He stammered out.

The smile Mike gave him was brilliant. Perhaps Mike thought he would rather go home and call it a night even though it was not yet nine. But Chuck didn’t want to go home, not so soon. "Yeah, I could eat. Antonio's?"

"You read my mind."

"It's a gift." Mike barked out a laugh and unlocked Mutt's doors.


End file.
